Adarsh scam: Two sent to CBI custody till April 30

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) A special court here Tuesday remanded two former Maharashtra bureaucrats to CBI custody till April 30 in the Adarsh housing scam, an official said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) April 3 arrested former municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak and retired information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari in connection with the scam.

"Both, Phatak and Tiwari, have been remanded to judicial custody till April 30," a CBI official said.

The scam involves a prime plot in south Mumbai's Colaba on which a 31-storey building was constructed by the society.

Phatak was the municipal commissioner of Mumbai in 2010 when the building's height was allowed to be increased beyond 100 metres but without approval from the High-Rise Committee of the municipal body. Phatak's son has been allotted a flat in the society.

Tiwari's son has also been allotted a flat in the building.

Many army officials and politicians, including former chief minister Ashok Chavan, are alleged to have facilitated clearances for the building and got flats in it as quid pro quo.

Nine of the 14 accused have already been arrested for their alleged involvement in the scam.

In March, the CBI made seven arrests in the case namely Maj. Gen. (retd.) A.R. Kumar, Maj. Gen. (retd.) T.K. Kaul, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Vyas, former Congress legislator Kanahiyalal Gidwani, retired defence estates officer R.C. Thakur, Brig. (retd.) M.M. Wanchoo and former deputy secretary, urban development, P.V. Deshmukh.

The judicial custody of all seven has been extended till April 30.

The CBI's action came after the Bombay High Court questioned the agency for delaying the arrests in the case.

The court March 12 rapped the CBI for not initiating action against government officials involved in the scam.